Using plain text to list an item on a publication system

ABSTRACT

Listing an item on a publication system involves sending the publication system an email or other communication that includes title, description and a picture of the item. The email may be in plain text, with the publication system using the email for listing the item with minimal complexity for the user. The publication system may receive the email, parse the email to extract title, description, price, classification, attributes and perhaps other information with respect to the item, and compose a view item page (“VIP”) for the item listing. The extracting may also be by decoding a product identifier in the communication. The VIP may be privately viewable and editable by the user. The user may then modify or otherwise confirm the VIP. When the user confirms the VIP, the VIP goes live as the listing on the publication system.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/841,998, filed Mar. 15, 2013, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to a method and system to list an item on apublication system, such as listing an item for sale on an ecommercesystem.

BACKGROUND

When listing items for publication on a publication system, such aslisting an item for sale on an ecommerce system, It may be difficult oroverly complex for people without significant computer skills to list aproduct using standard listing mechanisms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of exampleand not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in whichlike reference numbers indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a client-server system, withinwhich an example embodiment may be deployed;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system to provide an item listing, inaccordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a plain text listing application inaccordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a work flow in accordance with an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of two pictures of an item that a userwishes to list for publication, and has taken on a smartphone inaccordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates an email the user may compose via a smartphone inaccordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates the email of FIG. 6 scrolled down so that attachedpicture is visible;

FIG. 8 illustrates the email of FIGS. 6 and 8 that the publicationsystem may receive from the user in accordance with an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates certain details on a parsing function in accordancewith an example embodiment;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a composition of a proposed view item pagein accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 11 is another illustration of a composition of a proposed view itempage, showing items to be confirmed or edited in accordance with anembodiment; and

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic representation of an example machine in theform of a computer system within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows includes systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and computing machine program products thatembody illustrative example embodiments of the present disclosure. Inthe following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding ofvarious example embodiments of the inventive subject matter. It will beevident, however, to those skilled in the art that embodiments of thedisclosed subject matter may be practiced without these specificdetails. In general, well-known instruction instances, protocols,structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail.

As used herein, the term “or” may be construed in either an inclusive orexclusive sense. Additionally, although various example embodimentsdiscussed below focus on a network-based publication system environment,the example embodiments are given merely for clarity in disclosure. Asused herein, “publication system” may be any type of publication system.An ecommerce system is used herein as example embodiment of apublication system, although those of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that any type of publication system may be used. Thus, anytype of electronic publication, electronic commerce, or electronicbusiness system and method, including various system architectures, mayemploy various embodiments of the listing creation system and methoddescribed herein and may be considered as being within a scope of theexample embodiments. Each of a variety of example embodiments may bediscussed in detail below.

A system, method, and article of manufacture to provide an item listingin a publication system such as an ecommerce system are described. Whenlisting items for publication on a publication system, such as in oneexample, listing an item for sale on an ecommerce system such as eBay,It may be difficult or overly complex for people without significantcomputer skills to list a product using standard listing mechanisms suchas the “Turbo Lister 2” application developed by eBay Inc., of San Jose,Calif. This may be alleviated by an easier listing process that mayinvolve merely sending the ecommerce system an email that includes salesinformation for an item, and has with a picture of the item attached.While the description below is described in terms of an email, those ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that texting or other types ofcommunication that provides the type of information discussed may alsobe used. The email or other communication may be in the seller's wordsand in the seller's language, with the ecommerce using the email forlisting the item with minimal complexity for the seller. The ecommercesystem may receive the email, process the email and compose a view itempage (“VIP”) for the item listing. A view item page may be considered asa listing of the item that a prospective buyer will see when searchingfor an item to purchase. The seller may then confirm what the ecommercehas created as a view item page and when the seller confirms the viewitem page the listing goes live on the ecommerce system.

While the function described herein relates to listing an item on apublication system, the function could be any online function inaddition to listing an item. For example, most service companies havephone menus for their different services, directing customers to pressONE to do XX, press TWO to do YY, etc. The embodiments described hereincan be extended to allow customers of those companies to simply email ortext asking the company to do XX or YY and those functions could beaccomplished using the teachings herein.

FIG. 1 may be a network diagram depicting a network system 100,according to one example embodiment, having a client-server architectureconfigured for exchanging data over a network. For example, the networksystem 100 may include a network-based publisher 102 where clients maycommunicate and exchange data within the network system 100. The datamay pertain to various functions (e.g., online item purchases) andaspects (e.g., managing content) associated with the network system 100and its users. Although illustrated herein as a client-serverarchitecture as an example, other embodiments may include other networkarchitectures, such as a peer-to-peer or distributed networkenvironment.

A data exchange platform, in an example form of a network-basedpublisher 102, may provide server-side functionality, via a network 104(e.g., the Internet, wireless network, cellular network, or a Wide AreaNetwork (WAN)) to one or more clients. The one or more clients mayinclude users that utilize the network system 100 and more specifically,the network-based publisher 102, to exchange data over the network 104.These transactions may include transmitting, receiving (communicating)and processing data to, from, and regarding content and users of thenetwork system 100. The data may include, but are not limited to,content and user data such as feedback data; user profiles; userattributes; product attributes; product and service reviews; product,service, manufacture, and vendor recommendations and identifiers; socialnetwork commentary, product and service listings associated with buyersand sellers; auction bids; and transaction data, among other things.

In various embodiments, the data exchanges within the network system 100may be dependent upon user-selected functions available through one ormore client or user interfaces (UIs). The UIs may be associated with aclient device, such as a client device 110 using a web client 106. Theweb client 106 may be in communication with the network-based publisher102 via a web server 116. The UIs may also be associated with a clientdevice 112 using a programmatic client 108, such as a clientapplication. It can be appreciated in various embodiments the clientdevices 110, 112 may be associated with a buyer, a seller, a third partyelectronic commerce platform, a payment service provider, or a shippingservice provider, each in communication with the network-based publisher102 and optionally each other. The buyers and sellers may be any one ofindividuals, merchants, or service providers, among other things. Theclient devices 110 and 112 may comprise a mobile phone, desktopcomputer, laptop, or any other communication device that a user may useto access the network-based publisher 102.

Turning specifically to the network-based publisher 102, an applicationprogram interface (API) server 114 and a web server 116 are coupled to,and provide programmatic and web interfaces respectively to, one or moreapplication servers 118. The application servers 118 host one or morepublication application(s) of publication system 120 and one or morepayment systems 122. The application server(s) 118 are, in turn, shownto be coupled to one or more database server(s) 124 that facilitateaccess to one or more database(s) 126.

In one example embodiment, the web server 116 and the API server 114communicate and receive data pertaining to products, listings,transactions, social network commentary and feedback, among otherthings, via various user input tools. For example, the web server 116may send and receive data to and from a toolbar or webpage on a browserapplication (e.g., web client 106) operating on a client device (e.g.,client device 110). The API server 114 may send and receive data to andfrom an application (e.g., client application 108) running on anotherclient device (e.g., client device 112).

The publication system 120 publishes content on a network (e.g., theInternet). As such, the publication system 120 provides a number ofpublication and marketplace functions and services to users that accessthe network-based publisher 102. For example, the publicationapplication(s) of publication system 120 may provide a number ofservices and functions to users for listing goods and/or services forsale, facilitating transactions, and reviewing and providing feedbackabout transactions and associated users. Additionally, the publicationapplication(s) of publication system 120 may track and store data andmetadata relating to products, listings, transactions, and userinteraction with the network-based publisher 102. The publicationapplication(s) of publication system 120 may aggregate the tracked dataand metadata to perform data mining to identify trends or patterns inthe data. While the publication system 120 may be discussed in terms ofa marketplace environment, it may be noted that the publication system120 may be associated with a non-marketplace environment.

The payment system 122 provides a number of payment services andfunctions to users. The payment system 122 allows users to accumulatevalue (e.g., in a commercial currency, such as the U.S. dollar, or aproprietary currency, such as “points”) in accounts, and then later toredeem the accumulated value for products (e.g., goods or services) thatare made available via the publication system 120. The payment system122 also facilitates payments from a payment mechanism (e.g., a bankaccount, PayPal account, or credit card) for purchases of items via thenetwork-based marketplace. While the publication system 120 and thepayment system 122 are shown in FIG. 1 to both form part of thenetwork-based publisher 102, it will be appreciated that, in alternativeembodiments, the payment system 122 may form part of a payment servicethat may be separate and distinct from the network-based publisher 102.

Application Server(s)

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram showing applications of applicationserver(s) that are part of the network system 100, in an exampleembodiment. In this embodiment, the publication system 120, and thepayment system 120 may be hosted by the application server(s) 118 of thenetwork system 100. The publication system 120 and the payment system132 may be hosted on dedicated or shared server machines (not shown)that are communicatively coupled to enable communications between servermachines. The applications themselves may be communicatively coupled(e.g., via appropriate interfaces) to each other and to various datasources, so as to allow information to be passed between theapplications or so as to allow the applications to share and accesscommon data.

The publication system 120 are shown to include at least one or moreauction application(s) 212 which support auction-format listing andprice setting mechanisms (e.g., English, Dutch, Vickrey, Chinese,Double, Reverse auctions etc.). The auction application(s) 212 may alsoprovide a number of features in support of such auction-format listings,such as a reserve price feature whereby a seller may specify a reserveprice in connection with a listing and a proxy-bidding feature whereby abidder may invoke automated proxy bidding. The auction-format offer inany format may be published in any virtual or physical marketplacemedium and may be considered the point of sale for the commercetransaction between a seller and a buyer (or two users).

One or more fixed-price application(s) 214 support fixed-price listingformats (e.g., the traditional classified advertisement-type listing ora catalogue listing) and buyout-type listings. Specifically, buyout-typelistings (e.g., including the Buy-It-Now® (BIN) technology developed byeBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) may be offered in conjunction withauction-format listings, and allow a buyer to purchase goods orservices, which are also being offered for sale via an auction, for afixed-price that may be typically higher than the starting price of theauction.

The application(s) of the application server(s) 118 may include one ormore store application(s) 216 that allow a seller to group listingswithin a “virtual” store. The virtual store may be branded and otherwisepersonalized by and for the seller. Such a virtual store may also offerpromotions, incentives and features that are specific and personalizedto a relevant seller.

Navigation of the online marketplace may be facilitated by one or morenavigation application(s) 220. For example, a search application (as anexample of a navigation application) may enable key word searches oflistings published via the network-based publisher 102. A browseapplication may allow users to browse various category, catalogue, orinventory data structures according to which listings may be classifiedwithin the network-based publisher 102. Various other navigationapplications may be provided to supplement the search and browsingapplications.

Merchandizing application(s) 222 support various merchandising functionsthat are made available to sellers to enable sellers to increase salesvia the network-based publisher 102. The merchandizing application(s)222 also operate the various merchandising features that may be invokedby sellers, and may monitor and track the success of merchandisingstrategies employed by sellers.

Personalization application(s) 230 allow users of the network-basedpublisher 102 to personalize various aspects of their interactions withthe network-based publisher 102. For example, a user may, utilizing anappropriate personalization application 230, create a personalizedreference page at which information regarding transactions to which theuser may be (or has been) a party may be viewed. Further, thepersonalization application(s) 230 may enable a third party topersonalize products and other aspects of their interactions with thenetwork-based publisher 102 and other parties, or to provide otherinformation, such as relevant business information about themselves.

The publication system 120 may include one or more internationalizationapplication(s) 232. In one example embodiment, the network-basedpublisher 102 may support a number of marketplaces that are customized,for example, for specific geographic regions. A version of thenetwork-based publisher 102 may be customized for the United Kingdom,whereas another version of the network-based publisher 102 may becustomized for the United States. Each of these versions may operate asan independent marketplace, or may be customized (or internationalized)presentations of a common underlying marketplace. The network-basedpublisher 102 may accordingly include a number of internationalizationapplication(s) 232 that customize information (and/or the presentationof information) by the network-based publisher 102 according topredetermined criteria (e.g., geographic, demographic or marketplacecriteria). For example, the internationalization application(s) 232 maybe used to support the customization of information for a number ofregional websites that are operated by the network-based publisher 102and that are accessible via respective web servers.

Reputation application(s) 234 allow users that transact, utilizing thenetwork-based publisher 102, to establish, build and maintainreputations, which may be made available and published to potentialtrading partners. Consider that where, for example, the network-basedpublisher 102 supports person-to-person trading, users may otherwisehave no history or other reference information whereby thetrustworthiness and credibility of potential trading partners may beassessed. The reputation application(s) 234 allow a user, for examplethrough feedback provided by other transaction partners, to establish areputation within the network-based publisher 102 over time. Otherpotential trading partners may then reference such a reputation for thepurposes of assessing credibility and trustworthiness.

In order to make listings, available via the network-based publisher102, as visually informing and attractive as possible, the publicationsystem 120 may include one or more imaging application(s) 236 utilizingwhich users may upload images for inclusion within listings. An imagingapplication 236 also operates to incorporate images within viewedlistings. The imaging application(s) 236 may also support one or morepromotional features, such as image galleries that are presented topotential buyers. For example, sellers may generally pay an additionalfee to have an image included within a gallery of images for promoteditems.

The publication system 120 may include one or more offer creationapplication(s) 238. The offer creation application(s) 238 allow sellersconveniently to author products pertaining to goods or services thatthey wish to transact via the network-based publisher 102. Offermanagement application(s) 240 allow sellers to manage offers, such asgoods, services, or donation opportunities. Specifically, where aparticular seller has authored and/or published a large number ofproducts, the management of such products may present a challenge. Theoffer management application(s) 240 provide a number of features (e.g.,auto-reproduct, inventory level monitors, etc.) to assist the seller inmanaging such products. One or more post-offer management application(s)242 also assist sellers with a number of activities that typically occurpost-offer. For example, upon completion of an auction facilitated byone or more auction application(s) 212, a seller may wish to leavefeedback regarding a particular buyer. To this end, a post-offermanagement application 242 may provide an interface to one or morereputation application(s) 234, so as to allow the seller conveniently toprovide feedback regarding multiple buyers to the reputationapplication(s) 234.

The dispute resolution application(s) 246 may provide mechanisms wherebydisputes arising between transacting parties may be resolved. Forexample, the dispute resolution application(s) 246 may provide guidedprocedures whereby the parties are guided through a number of steps inan attempt to settle a dispute. In the event that the dispute cannot besettled via the guided procedures, the dispute may be escalated to amediator or arbitrator.

The fraud prevention application(s) 248 may implement various frauddetection and prevention mechanisms to reduce the occurrence of fraudwithin the network-based publisher 102. The fraud preventionapplication(s) may prevent fraud with respect to the third party and/orthe client user in relation to any part of the request, payment,information flows and/or request fulfillment. Fraud may occur withrespect to unauthorized use of financial instruments, non-delivery ofgoods, and abuse of personal information.

Authentication application(s) 250 may verify the identity of a user, andmay be used in conjunction with the fraud prevention application(s) 248.The user may be requested to submit verification of identity, anidentifier upon making the purchase request, for example. Verificationmay be made by a code entered by the user, a cookie retrieved from thedevice, a phone number/identification pair, a username/password pair,handwriting, and/or biometric methods, such as voice data, face data,iris data, finger print data, and hand data. In some embodiments, theuser may not be permitted to login without appropriate authentication.The system (e.g., the FSP) may automatically recognize the user, basedupon the particular network-based device used and a retrieved cookie,for example.

The network-based publisher 102 itself, or one or more parties thattransact via the network-based publisher 102, may operate loyaltyprograms and other types of promotions that are supported by one or moreloyalty/promotions application(s) 254. For example, a buyer/client usermay earn loyalty or promotions points for each transaction establishedand/or concluded with a particular seller/third party, and may beoffered a reward for which accumulated loyalty points can be redeemed.

The application server(s) 118 may include messaging application(s) 256.The messaging application(s) 256 are responsible for the generation anddelivery of messages to client users and third parties of thenetwork-based publisher 102. Information in these messages may bepertinent to services offered by, and activities performed via, thepayment system 120. Such messages, for example, advise client usersregarding the status of products (e.g., providing “out of stock” or“outbid” notices to client users) or payment status (e.g., providinginvoice for payment, Notification of a Payment Received, deliverystatus, invoice notices). Third parties may be notified of a productorder, payment confirmation and/or shipment information. Respectivemessaging application(s) 256 may utilize any one of a number of messagedelivery networks and platforms to deliver messages to users. Forexample, messaging application(s) 256 may deliver electronic mail(email), instant message (IM), Short Message Service (SMS), text,facsimile, or voice (e.g., Voice over IP (VoIP)) messages via the wired(e.g., the Internet), Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), or wireless(e.g., mobile, cellular, WiFi, WiMAX) networks.

The payment system 120 may include one or more payment processingapplication(s) 258. The payment processing application(s) 258 mayreceive electronic invoices from the merchants and may receive paymentsassociated with the electronic invoices. The payment system 120 may alsomake use of functions performed by some applications included in thepublication system 120.

The publication system 120 may include one or more plain text listingapplications 260. The one or more plain text listing applications mayreceive a plain text email from a user that includes sales informationfor an item the user wishes to list on the publication system, and haswith a picture of the item attached. The email may be in the user'swords and in the user's language. The one or more plain text listingapplications may receive the email, parse the plain text of the email,compose a view item page (“VIP”) for the item listing, and send the VIPto the listing party for review. The listing party may then confirm whatthe one or more plain text listing applications has created as a viewitem page. When the user confirms the view item page the listing goeslive on the publication system.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an example block diagram of a plain textlisting application is illustrated according to an example embodiment.Plain text listing application 260 may comprise an email receiver module310, a plain text parsing module 320, a risk assessment module 330, anda VIP composer module. As discussed in more detail below, a user wishingto list an item on the publication system may send the system an emailin plain text that indicates the title of the item, the price for saleof the item, and a description of the item. The parsing module 320 mayalso extract from information in the email a listing category for theitem, as well as item attributes. The email may be received by the emailreceiver module 310. The plain text parsing module 320, using well knownparsing technology, may then parse the email to determine the title ofthe item, the price for sale of the item, and a description of the item.If desired, the risk assessment module 330 may undertake a riskassessment of the email, perhaps using a commercially available riskmanagement service. If there is low risk in dealing with the email, andif the plain text parsing module 320 determines sufficient data to listthe item, a view item page (VIP) for the item may be composed by VIPcomposer module. The VIP may be privately viewable and also editable, bythe user. The VIP composer module may have functionality to send thecomposed VIP to the user, who may either confirm that it is anappropriate listing for the item, or may edit information in thecomposed VIP and return it via the email receiver module 310. Onceconfirmed the VIP composer module may send the VIP to go live on thesystem. The user may be notified by email or otherwise that the VIP isgoing live.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a work flow in accordance with an exampleembodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the method 400 commences at operation402, with a seller who wishes to list an item composing a plain textemail with a picture of the item. The seller may send the email to theecommerce system where it may be received by the plain text listingapplication 260 of FIG. 2. In this context plain text may be viewed asmeaning the seller's own words in the seller's language. As seen at 404,the email receiver module 310 of FIG. 3 may receive the email and plaintext parsing module 320 of FIG. 3 may parse the email using well knownparsing technologies and attempts to extract at least the title, itemcategory and item attributes from the email language.

Categorization is well known and need not be described in detail here.One of many examples of categorization may be found in U.S. Pat. No.7,870,031 issued Jan. 11, 2011 entitled, “Suggested Item CategorySystems and Methods” and assigned to the assignee of the presentapplication, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

An attribute is a feature associated with a selected item that operatesto include the selected item as a member of a particular set or group.For example, considering a particular category, such as the “shoes”category, one attribute might be color, another attribute might be size,another attribute might be brand, and so forth. As another example, inthe category of “jewelry,” attributes might include, but not be limitedto: stone type, cut, quality, and setting. As is the case withcategories, myriad variations are possible. Generally, attributes for aclassification may be determined as set forth in U.S. Pat. No.7,870,031.

The plain text parsing module 320 of FIG. 3 may identify the price theseller is listing the item for. This may be done by, in one exampleembodiment, searching the string of text in the email for a dollar sign($) (for countries whose currency is denoted in dollars), and parsingthe text following the dollar sign to determine the price. Other methodsmay be used.

Also determined from the email or from historical experience data storedwithin the ecommerce system, would be whether the item may be offered atauction (sometimes preferable for certain items such as collectables forwhich a price may not be easily determined) or as a fixed price, Buy ItNow (BIN) item (sometimes preferable for items for which a price may bemore easily determined). In addition, the payment service to be used,the shipping method and the return policy may also be set as a conditionor determined by the ecommerce system.

At operation 406 in the parsing process, a determination may be madefrom the email whether at least title, price and description of the itemhave been provided. If a NO decision is taken, operation 408 sends theseller a communication such as an email (after checking the seller'semail against denial of service concerns if desired) that may include aform asking the seller to fill in the missing fields. For example, if adescription was determined not to have been provided at operation 406,the form will request the description from the seller. If, however, aYES decision is determined at operation 406 then the ecommerce systemwill extract title, price, description and other relevant informationabout the seller's item from the email and proceed to operation 410.

At operation 410, if desired, a determination may be made whether theseller is a first time seller on the ecommerce system. Thisdetermination may be made by comparing the seller's identity againsthistorical seller records in the ecommerce system. If a YESdetermination is made, this email may be a more risky situation than ifthe seller had previously sold items on the ecommerce system becausethen the ecommerce system may have reputation information against whichto assess the risk of dealing with the seller. The ecommerce system maytherefore determine the risk of dealing with the seller by the emailaddress and the IP address of the email. As mentioned above, riskdetermination may be obtained commercially by the ecommerce system frombusinesses that determine such risk. If a determination of High Risk ismade, that may mean that the email may be part of a denial of service orother negative action. The ecommerce system may then request additionalcredentials that may be evaluated and a decision may be made to proceedwith the listing or to abandon the listing.

If the email is determined to be of Low Risk, then at operation 412where the ecommerce system may compose a proposed view item page by theVIP composer module 340 of FIG. 3. The VIP may be privately viewableand/or modifiable by the seller. An email may be sent to the seller asat 414 asking the seller to examine or review the proposed VIP and ifthere are errors, correct them, and if there are no errors, confirm theVIP. If the seller agrees with the VIP, then he or she may confirm theVIP by email. If the seller detects an error or is otherwisedissatisfied with the VIP, then the seller may edit information in thecomposed VIP and return it via the email receiver module 310 of FIG. 3.

The seller's identity may be confirmed at 414 by requesting the seller'sdriver's license, including photo ID. Other identity verification may beused such as, in one example, by sending a captcha phrase and asking forits return, as by the seller re-entering the captcha phrase, forverification purposes. The ecommerce system may here list the conditionsfor selling the item. As one example, if the ecommerce system alsooperates a payment service, the seller may be informed that thatspecific payment service will be used exclusively for payment for saleof the item. One intended characteristic of the operations of the method400 is to get the information completed and back quickly to the seller,perhaps within thirty seconds, to guard against losing the interest ofthe seller.

At operation 416 the ecommerce system may verify the driver's license orother identification information and create an internal market place(“MP”) account for the seller if the seller is a first time seller. Thismay be a temporary MP account internal to the ecommerce system orpayment service and may be automatically set up without further inputfrom the seller. The ecommerce system may then list the item and exposethe VIP to public view so that a search may find it and a buyer maypurchase the item.

In one example embodiment, after the item is sold the seller who is afirst time seller for whom a temporary MP account was created may thenbe made a registered seller. The seller registration process may involvethe seller providing additional information. If this step is postponeduntil after the item is sold instead of before the item is sold, theseller is more likely to complete the registration process knowing thatthe item has been sold and the seller will be compensated. If theregistration process takes place before the item is sold the seller maylose interest because of the amount of information that may need to beinputted by the seller.

The pictures of the item to be sold may be taken by a smart phone orother photo-taking device. FIG. 5 shows an example of two pictures of anitem that the seller wishes to sell, and has taken on a smartphone. FIG.6 illustrates the email the seller may compose via the smartphone. Aphotograph of the trampoline 720 of FIG. 7 may be attached to the emailof FIG. 6. In that figure, the subject provides the title anddescription of the item at 620, as Working Trampoline 14×10 used. Thebody of the email states that the trampoline is used, is usable, and has72 springs (“w 72 springs”) as at 630. In this instance the email hasthe name of the item (trampoline), its description, (used, usabletrampoline w 72 springs). While a particular layout of the email isillustrated in FIG. 6, those of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the foregoing information could be placed elsewhere inthe email. FIG. 7 shows the email of FIG. 6 scrolled down so thatattached photograph of the trampoline is visible.

FIG. 8 illustrates the email that the ecommerce system may receive fromthe seller. The seller has addressed the email to the appropriateecommerce listing department, here fjamzadeh@ebay.com. FIG. 8illustrates the email with the photos attached at 810, 820. In this casethe two photos of FIG. 5 are attached as JPG files, the subject linedescribes title of the item as a Trampoline, and gives the additionalinformation Working Trampoline 14×10 used, as seen at 830. The body ofthe email gives the information Used, usable trampoline w 72 springs asat 840. The price is given here $1.01 at 850 for illustrative purposesonly. This data may then be parsed by plain text parsing module 320 forthe purposes described herein.

While a trampoline has been used as an example for the item to belisted, those or ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the itemcould be any item. In particular, the item might be a well-known item,e.g. iPhone 4-S with 16 GB memory, or Levi's black 505 jeans size 32-32.In this type of situation, the email of FIG. 8 from the seller maycontain the item bar code, UPC, ISBN, or other identifier. This could bein the body of the email itself, or it could be in the picture(s)attached to the email. In this case, the system may not need to parseand process the email for item category, title, or description. The barcode, UPC, ISBN or other similar identifier may be decoded to obtainthat information using well known decoding technology.

FIG. 9 provides additional details on the parsing function discussedabove. In one example embodiment the parsing module may parse thesubject of the email which, in the current example, is “used workingtrampoline 144×10” at 910. The subject line may be fed into acategorizer of the type set forth in the above U.S. Pat. No. 7,870,031to determine both a category and attributes. In this case the servicecomes back with “Trampoline” 920 as a category, which is under “OutdoorToys & Structures” 930 which, in turn, is under “Toys and Hobbies” 940.Other types of information can be extracted, such as attributes, price,auction or fixed price (BIN), shipping method and return policy. Some ofthe information may be a default value. For example, the return policymay be a default, set policy.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a composition of a proposed view item pagethat has the photo of the trampoline 1010, the title and description1020, the auction price 1030, the fixed price (or Buy It Now (BIN)price) 1040, and the shipping information 1050, among others. Asmentioned above, this VIP may be privately viewable by the seller and/oreditable by the seller. This is seen in FIG. 11 where the title anddescription A at 1110, the starting bid for an auction sale and the BuyIt Now price B at 1120, and additional detailed description C at 1130.The seller may be asked to confirm the VIP and send it back to theecommerce system. The seller may at this point edit any of the foregoingitems of information and send the edited VIP back to the ecommercesystem. Additional conditions may be provided by the ecommerce systemsuch as use of a particular payment service. Before actually going live,the seller may be asked at this point for identification such as adriver's license. The driver license information may be verified and aninternal, temporary seller account may be created for the seller with,if desired, no further work needing to be done by the seller. The itemmay then be displayed live and the seller may be so informed.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system 1200 within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed. In alternative embodiments, themachine operates as a stand-alone device or may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in aserver-client network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, anetwork router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing aset of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to betaken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 1200 includes a processor 1202 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) orboth), a main memory 1204 and a static memory 1206, which communicatewith each other via a bus 1206. The computer system 1200 may furtherinclude a video display unit 1210 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD)or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 1200 also includes analpha-numeric input device 1212 (e.g., a keyboard), a user interface(UI) navigation device 1214 (e.g., a cursor control device), a diskdrive unit 1216, a signal generation device 1218 (e.g., a speaker) and anetwork interface device 1220.

The disk drive unit 1216 includes a machine-readable medium 1222 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions and data structures(e.g., software 1224) embodying or utilized by any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The software 1224 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 1204and/or within the processor 1202 during execution thereof by thecomputer system 1200, with the main memory 1204 and the processor 1202also constituting machine-readable media.

The software 1224 may further be transmitted or received over a network1226 via the network interface device 1220 utilizing any one of a numberof well-known transfer protocols (e.g., Hyper Text Transfer Protocol(HTTP)).

While the machine-readable medium 1222 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring and encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of embodiments of the present invention, or that iscapable of storing and encoding data structures utilized by orassociated with such a set of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media. Such media may alsoinclude, without limitation, hard disks, floppy disks, flash memorycards, digital video disks, random access memory (RAMs), read onlymemory (ROMs), and the like.

The embodiments described herein may be implemented in an operatingenvironment comprising software installed on a computer, in hardware, orin a combination of software and hardware. Such embodiments of theinventive subject matter may be referred to herein, individually orcollectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience and withoutintending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to anysingle invention or inventive concept if more than one is, in fact,disclosed.

Modules, Components and Logic

Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a numberof components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules may constitute eithersoftware modules (e.g., code embodied (1) on a non-transitorymachine-readable medium or (2) in a transmission signal) orhardware-implemented modules. A hardware-implemented module is tangibleunit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured orarranged in a certain manner. In example embodiments, one or morecomputer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system)or one or more processors may be configured by software (e.g., anapplication or application portion) as a hardware-implemented modulethat operates to perform certain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware-implemented module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware-implementedmodule may comprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanentlyconfigured (e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC)) to perform certain operations. A hardware-implementedmodule may also comprise programmable logic or circuitry (e.g., asencompassed within a general-purpose processor or other programmableprocessor) that is temporarily configured by software to perform certainoperations. It will be appreciated that the decision to implement ahardware-implemented module mechanically, in dedicated and permanentlyconfigured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g.,configured by software) may be driven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware-implemented module” should be understoodto encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarily ortransitorily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certainmanner and/or to perform certain operations described herein.Considering embodiments in which hardware-implemented modules aretemporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of thehardware-implemented modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware-implementedmodules comprise a general-purpose processor configured using software,the general-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware-implemented modules at different times. Software mayaccordingly configure a processor, for example, to constitute aparticular hardware-implemented module at one instance of time and toconstitute a different hardware-implemented module at a differentinstance of time.

Hardware-implemented modules can provide information to, and receiveinformation from, other hardware-implemented modules. Accordingly, thedescribed hardware-implemented modules may be regarded as beingcommunicatively coupled. Where multiple of such hardware-implementedmodules exist contemporaneously, communications may be achieved throughsignal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses) thatconnect the hardware-implemented modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware-implemented modules are configured or instantiated atdifferent times, communications between such hardware-implementedmodules may be achieved, for example, through the storage and retrievalof information in memory structures to which the multiplehardware-implemented modules have access. For example, onehardware-implemented module may perform an operation, and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware-implemented module may then,at a later time, access the memory device to retrieve and process thestored output. Hardware-implemented modules may also initiatecommunications with input or output devices, and can operate on aresource (e.g., a collection of information).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented. For example, at least some of the operations of amethod may be performed by one or processors or processor-implementedmodules. The performance of certain of the operations may be distributedamong the one or more processors, not only residing within a singlemachine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some exampleembodiments, the processor or processors may be located in a singlelocation (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment or as aserver farm), while in other embodiments the processors may bedistributed across a number of locations.

The one or more processors may also operate to support performance ofthe relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a“software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of theoperations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples ofmachines including processors), these operations being accessible via anetwork (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces(e.g., Application Program Interfaces (APIs).)

Thus, method and system to provide a scroll map have been described.Although embodiments have been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader spirit and scope of the inventive subject matter. Accordingly,the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrativerather than a restrictive sense.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method forautomatically creating a listing in a listing service and preventing adenial of service attack, the method comprising: receiving, from aclient machine, via an email receiver module operating on one or morecomputer systems, an email comprising an email address; determining togenerate a listing in the listing service based on the email; passingthe email to a plain text parsing module operating on the one or morecomputer systems; parsing, at the plain text parsing module, the emailcomprising the email address; passing the email comprising the emailaddress to a risk assessment module operating on the one or morecomputer systems; determining, at the risk assessment module, based onthe email address, that the email is high risk; and based on thedetermination that the email is high risk: determining, based on parsingthe email, that the email is missing data for one or more fields for thelisting; determining to withhold sending a form to the client machinerequesting the missing data for the one or more fields for the listing;requesting additional credentials regarding a user identity from theclient machine; receiving the additional credentials from the clientmachine; evaluating the additional credentials by verifying theadditional credentials, the additional credentials comprising a code, acookie of the client machine, a username and password pair, biometricdata, or any combination thereof; in response to the evaluation,permitting the listing to be created; and automatically generating, by aview item page composer module operating on the one or more computersystems, the listing in the listing service using the email.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the email further comprises an InternetProtocol (IP) address and the determining that the email is high risk isalso based on the IP address.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theemail further contains an identification of an item, a category for theitem, one or more attributes for the item, and one or more digitalimages, and the automatically generating uses the identification,category, one or more attributes, and one or more digital images togenerate the listing.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingcreating a temporary account that is privately viewable, using no userinformation other than information from the email.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein when a listed item associated with the listing is sold,the method further comprises detecting that the listed item is sold and,responsive to detecting that the listed item is sold, registering a userassociated with the user identity and the client machine as a member ofan online system.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisingforwarding the generated listing to the client machine for confirmationor modification.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining, from plain text information in the email, a format for thelisting.
 8. A computer-readable hardware storage device having storedtherein a set of instructions which, when executed by one or moreprocessors of a computer, causes the computer to execute operationscomprising: receive, from a client machine, via an email receiver moduleoperating on the computer, an email comprising an email address;determine to generate a listing in a listing service based on the email;pass the email to a plain text parsing module operating on the computer;parse, at the plain text parsing module, the email comprising the emailaddress; pass the email comprising the email address to a riskassessment module operating on the computer; determine, at the riskassessment module, based on the email address, that the email is highrisk; and based on the determination that the email is high risk:determine, based on parsing the email, that the email is missing datafor one or more fields for the listing; determine to withhold sending aform to the client machine requesting the missing data for the one ormore fields for the listing; request additional credentials regarding auser identity from the client machine; receive the additionalcredentials from the client machine; evaluate the additional credentialsby verifying the additional credentials, the additional credentialscomprising a code, a cookie of the client machine, a username andpassword pair, biometric data, or any combination thereof; in responseto the evaluation, permit the listing to be created; and automaticallygenerate, by a view item page composer module operating on the computer,the listing in the listing service using the email.
 9. Thecomputer-readable hardware storage device of claim 8, wherein the emailfurther comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address and the determiningthat the email is high risk is also based on the IP address.
 10. Thecomputer-readable hardware storage device of claim 9, wherein the emailfurther contains an identification of an item, a category for the item,one or more attributes for the item, and one or more digital images, andthe automatically generating uses the identification, category, one ormore attributes, and one or more digital images to generate the listing.11. The computer-readable hardware storage device of claim 8, whereinthe instructions further cause the computer to execute operationscomprising creating a temporary account that is privately viewable,using no user information other than information from the email.
 12. Thecomputer-readable hardware storage device of claim 11, wherein when alisted item associated with the listing is sold, the instructionsfurther cause the computer to execute operations comprising detectingthat the listed item is sold and, responsive to detecting that thelisted item is sold, registering a user associated with the useridentity and the client machine as a member of an online system.
 13. Thecomputer-readable hardware storage device of claim 11, wherein theinstructions further cause the computer to execute operations comprisingforwarding the generated listing to the client machine for confirmationor modification.
 14. The computer-readable hardware storage device ofclaim 11, wherein the instructions further cause the computer to executeoperations comprising determining, from plain text information in theemail, a format for the listing.
 15. An online system for automaticallylisting an item for sale, the online system comprising: one or morecomputer processors; and a memory storing instructions executable by theone or more computer processors to cause the online system to: receive,from a client machine, via an email receiver module operating on theonline system, an email comprising an email address; determine togenerate a listing in a listing service based on the email; pass theemail to a plain text parsing module operating on the online system;parse, at the plain text parsing module, the email comprising the emailaddress; pass the email comprising the email address to a riskassessment module operating on the online system; determine, at the riskassessment module, based on the email address, that the email is highrisk; and based on the determination that the email is high risk:determining, based on parsing the email, that the email is missing datafor one or more fields for the listing; determine to withhold sending aform to the client machine requesting the missing data for the one ormore fields for the listing; request additional credentials regarding auser identity from the client machine; receive the additionalcredentials from the client machine; evaluate the additional credentialsby verifying the additional credentials, the additional credentialscomprising a code, a cookie of the client machine, a username andpassword pair, biometric data, or any combination thereof; in responseto the evaluation, permit the listing to be created; and automaticallygenerate, by a view item page composer module operating on the onlinesystem, the listing in the listing service using the email.
 16. Theonline system of claim 15, wherein the email further comprises anInternet Protocol (IP) address and the determining that the email ishigh risk is also based on the IP address.
 17. The online system ofclaim 16, wherein the email further contains an identification of anitem, a category for the item, one or more attributes for the item, andone or more digital images, and the automatically generating uses theidentification, category, one or more attributes, and one or moredigital images to generate the listing.
 18. The online system of claim15, wherein the instructions further cause the online system to create atemporary account that is privately viewable, using no user informationother than information from the email.
 19. The online system of claim15, wherein when a listed item associated with the listing is sold, theinstructions further cause the online system to detect that the listeditem is sold and, responsive to detecting that the listed item is sold,registering a user associated with the user identity and the clientmachine as a member of the online system.
 20. The online system of claim15, wherein the instructions further cause the online system to forwardthe generated listing to the client machine for confirmation ormodification.